TALLAHASSEE — The press conference called by the heads of South Florida’s horse and dog tracks in October 2004 had one goal in mind: to counter voter skepticism. After nearly two decades of partially kept promises that the Florida Lottery would benefit education, the industry was struggling to persuade voters that if they supported a constitutional amendment to give the South Florida tracks slot machines, the revenues would go to enhance public schools. So the heads of the pari-mutuel industry presented a symbolic check for $500 million to Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, and announced it was their annual “guarantee.” “There’s been a lot of cynicism and questioning of motives so, today, we’re putting our absolute guarantee on it,” said Jim Horne at the time. The former state education commissioner was the hired spokesman for constitutional Amendment 4, which would give voters the power to authorize slot machines in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Fast forward seven years. The pari-mutuels have their slot machines. The financial guarantee has never materialized. The Florida Legislature imposed a 50 percent tax rate on the new games, higher than the 30 percent the industry expected. The Seminole Tribe became instant competitors and chipped away into their market. The race tracks couldn’t achieve more than about 23 percent of their promised $500 million in annual gaming taxes — and the Legislature never earmarked it for education. “Dashed hopes and good intentions,’’ said Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, a gambling opponent. “Whenever it comes to gambling dollars it’s always a false promise.” Now, promoters of the bill to bring three major casino resorts to South Florida are staying away from monetary promises. They talk instead about luring international tourists and spurring economic development. Their goal is a “strategic approach to gambling in Florida,’’ that will feature oversight by a state gambling commission and an end to an industry-driven, unfettered expansion of gaming. “The number one question I get to this day is: ‘Where’s the money? Where’s the money for education?’’’ said Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, the Fort Lauderdale Republican who is sponsoring the bill. She said she doesn’t know what the economic impact will be and added, “quite frankly I don’t care, because this is not a revenue debate for me.” All the money raised by the new casinos would go into the state’s general revenue fund so that, unlike the slots amendment and the Lottery before it, lawmakers will not require legislatures of the future to keep promises made today, she said. “The expression is, if you wrap it in children, if you wrap it in education or you wrap it in the American flag, it will fly out of the House and the Senate,’’ she said. “Hopefully, we don’t continue to do that.” But gambling opponents warn that even if the proponents manage to pass a casino bill without linking the tax revenue to a specific need such as education, there will be broken promises nonetheless. “They’re trying to sell the Legislature the same way they sell gambling to customers — an illusion of a great reward without any basis in reality,’’ said former state Sen. Dan Gelber, a volunteer with No Casinos, the Disney-backed anti-gambling group. The Legislature has sole control over state budgeting and no law can force lawmakers to spend money no matter what promoters promise. “Legislators can’t control the future,’’ Baxley said. “When you get extra dollars from a new source, it’s not really extra dollars. Each legislature is going to evaluate it in the timeframe they’re in.” At the first hearing on the casino proposal at the Senate Regulated Industries Committee last week, the president of Genting Americas, Colin Au, showed up prepared to counter criticism of his proposed mega casino. He responded to concerns about suffocating hometown businesses, aggravating traffic congestion, and the crush a mega casino resort would have on traffic. Au made promises. “At our own cost, we are going to improve I-395 instead of waiting for the state,’’ he said. Later, he noted: “We will guarantee half the seats of non-stop flights from the Asia Pacific…. I’m even prepared to guarantee Disney 100,000 tickets that we will sell for them in our resort.” The sensational pitch drew a rebuke from Bogdanoff, who called Genting’s revenue and job protections “over the top.” She urged the company to “tone it down and be realistic.” But Bogdanoff has already lost one battle over guarantees. The bill includes a provision requiring each casino licensee to pay the state $250,000 yearly for a compulsive-gambling prevention and awareness program. The money will go into a state account and it will be up to the Legislature to allocate it. Bogdanoff says the bill includes that provision as a compromise with the House sponsor. But

she’s against it: “Let the industry pay for those programs itself. We don’t make the liquor industry contribute to Alcoholics Anonymous.” A similar requirement already exists in state law. When Florida legislators implemented slot machine gambling in 2008, they required every licensed slots casino to contribute $250,000 yearly to the non-profit Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, a gambling-neutral organization that was started in Florida alongside the emergence of the state Lottery. Each year, the organization has collected money from the slots vendors and money from the Lottery to finance their statewide compulsive gambling hotline, training for casino workers to spot the warnings signs of addicted gamblers and education and prevention programs in schools, senior centers and throughout the community. Except this year. Gov. Rick Scott broke the deal and vetoed all $900,000 from the slot licenses, leaving the money instead in the state’s rainy-day fund. “You have to make choices,’’ Scott said when asked to defend the move. The Legislature also broke a commitment to the compulsive gambling council. In the face of a budget shortfall, it reduced the annual $690,000 in Lottery revenues that for years had been earmarked for compulsive gambling prevention to $264,000. Lawmakers decided it was easier to shift money into other state needs than to find replacement money. But to Pat Fowler, executive director of the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, it’s a harbinger of more trouble to come as legislators debate whether to bring resort casinos to Florida. The cuts forced the Altamonte Springs-based council to cut back staffing on its 24-hour helpline, 888-ADMIT-IT, at the same time the number of people who call the help line for addiction help is up 18 percent in the past year. The council has ended programs that trained healthcare professionals to assess and treat those suffering from a gambling problem. It can no longer afford to put the hotline number on the backs of Lottery tickets, in gambling facilities, on billboards on major thoroughfares, and in publications throughout the state. Fowler is discouraged that legislators appear to have no desire to override the governor’s veto or restore the money “There are times when we all have to cut back and tighten our belt and do the best thing for all, but this certainly is not a move to do the best for all,’’ she said. “We cannot continue to increase and debate gambling in the state and just ignore the negative impact that is has.” Mary Ellen Klas can be reached at meklas@MiamiHerald.com or on Twitter @MaryEllenKlas

Post navigation

What We’re About

We seek more public attention related to MIami's waterfront properties
-We need to work with th developer and others to preserve the Tequesta Archaeological site at Met Square- also the site of the Royal Palm Hotel, Fort Dallas etc. Does Miami have any sense of place or is it endlessly disposable?
-We Are concerned about Genting's destination casino and attempts by other casino moguls to hone into Miami's space.
-We are concerned about the one sided news coverage of so many issues such as their fawning over David Beckham's real estate dealings regarding Major League Soccer - another potentially bad deal for the County on public land.
-The fate of ostensibly public parkland called Parcel B that was promised as a park in 1996 next to the American Airlines Arena but which has for long been fenced off- from the public.
-The continuing Sales office related to the Epic Hotel on what is supposed to be public right of way along the mouth of the Miami River.
. (READ MORE)
Also:
See NoCasinos.org

Norman Braman on Gambling

Contact Us!

Comments or questions are welcome.

*indicates required field

Name: *

Email: *

Subject: *

Message: *

CAPTCHA Code: *

Breaking News on Miami’s Waterfront

Issues Are Coming At Miami in fast order.
-Met Square Building at site of Tequesta/Royal Palm Hotel. We need an alternative design to properly save the site within a larger waterfront planning effort.
-Beckham land grab on Watson Island? Check out Beckham's relationship with Sheldon Adelson. Is there a Trojan horse here?
-2.7 acres of Parcel B waterside at American Airlines Arena for a Cuban History Museum and additional Heat Parking garage? COme on. Cuban History Museum should be in Little Havana